Fortis et Liber
by yuuago-chan
Summary: She is strong. They never knew it because they never paid her enough mind to see that she was growing faster than they could ever give her credit for. Sakura-centric.
1. Trial by Fire

**Title: **Fortis et Liber

**Author: **yuuago-chan

**Rating: **PG-13/T

**Genre: **Adventure/Friendship (subject to slight change)

**Pairing: **None as of now (subject to change)

**Type: **Continuous (Incomplete)

**Written: **January 9-12

**Edited: **January 21

**Words: **4,746

**Disclaimer: **Standard disclaimers apply. I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. If I did, things would be a lot different.

**Summary: **She is strong. They never knew it because they never paid her enough mind to see that she was growing faster than they could ever give her credit for.

**Author's Note: **This is a Sakura-centric story that is going to focus on her growth as both a woman and a shinobi post-war. I feel as if Kishimoto does a relatively deplorable job at developing his female characters and almost all of the strong women in Naruto are either strong or weak because of a man.

I feel as if Kishi tends to focus so much on Sasuke and Naruto that he forgets about his other characters. So this story is about Sakura and her adventures. It is not a romance, and if I choose to put in a pairing including Sakura, I couldn't even tell you who it would be yet.

I will also add bits of chapters or even full chapters to the side characters – like Team Ten and Team Eight – who seem to be forced to the side and ignored and then randomly thrown in with their own chapter in the manga, doing jutsus and featuring new abilities we didn't even know they could.

Most of the Naruto and Sasuke you'll be getting in this story is going to be about their relationship with Sakura or as Team Seven as a whole – because let's face it, they are a major part of the story and Sakura wouldn't be who she is without them. It's going to focus on what I think her relationship with them should be – a mutual friendship that's about strength and love and support as opposed to them protecting or shielding her.

Thank you for taking the time to read this story and please let me know what you think!

The title is a latin phrase: "Strong and Free."

* * *

_**Fortis et Liber**_

_**Chapter 1: Trial by Fire**_

* * *

The formula was confusing. Confounding, really; but she was sure that she had it right. But if it was, if the formula that she had created for this particular antidote to this particular poison was indeed correct, it could mean that Suna would soon be at war with their neighbors to the north. The numbers and letters ran down the page in a confusing flurry of red and black ink. There were parts that were crossed out, circled again, moved by arrows pointing the symbols in the right direction, and probably wouldn't make sense to any sane human being.

Sighing, Sakura forced the stopper into the vial where the translucent poison that Gaara had brought on his diplomatic visit from Wind Country was held and placed it carefully back into the cabinet by her desk. She threw the testing strips into the biohazard waste basket and moved to wipe down any of the liquid that had spilled on her work table that sat adjacent to her desk.

Suna medics had found the new poison in a number of their fallen shinobi after a string of several dangerous and lethal missions. The poison would quickly metabolize in their enemy's bodies and then send electrical signals throughout the nervous system, making it nearly impossible for the shinobi to control their movements. They were then wide open to attack. The effects of the poison made Sakura shudder a bit when she first heard them, reminding her of Kabuto's chakra scalpel.

The medics in Suna were having trouble breaking down the masterfully crafted poison, so the head medic suggested that Gaara bring it to Konoha, their best allies and home to three of the greatest medics in the shinobi world, when he came for his annual meetings with Tsunade. The vial had been quickly handed off to Sakura who set to work right away. She hadn't even been able to greet or catch up with the Sand siblings properly.

Scowling to herself and moving mechanically, Sakura took her notebook and locked it into one of the side drawers and sealed it for good measure, flipping her bangs out of her face when she stood up. The final formula for the antidote needed to be tested before she could even think of giving it to Gaara. However, she was also sure he would find her sometime later to get an informal update on the poison.

She surveyed the area around her to make sure that she didn't leave a mess anywhere or any chemicals out that could potentially be dangerous just as she looked at the time on the clock that sat on her desk. Great, she was almost late. Her tiny office in the basement of the hospital was cramped and a little cluttered, but Sakura was able to keep it organized and it put her not too far from the labs in the basement as well as the stairs that led straight to the cafeteria and emergency room.

"Hey."

Sakura jumped a little, a surprised squeak leaving her mouth when someone startled her out of her thoughts. A raucous laughter soon followed from the man who had startled her half out of her skin.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled before she could even stop herself. It was muscle memory, their friendship. It was easy, and she liked that. It was full of ramen dates and punches and training sessions and movie nights. Their friendship was low-pressure now that Hinata had confessed to Naruto (plus, watching those two dance around their own burgeoning romance was incredibly amusing). Turning to face him, a smile already playing on her lips before she even saw the stupid blond, Sakura grinned at him while shaking her fist menacingly. "It's been a while since I got a good punch in, Naruto."

Naruto mockingly held his hands up in a passive gesture.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan. I figured you would be more alert than that. You know, being on the roster for a jounin promotion and everything," he mocked a little.

Sakura's best friend hadn't changed too much over the year and a half since the war. He was much taller than her now. When they had been sixteen and fighting the good fight together, he had been two or three inches taller, but now he stood nearly five or six inches above her. His scruffy blond hair had grown out so that the longest strands tickled the back of his neck; the only thing holding his golden mane in place was his forehead protector

And suddenly he looked just like his father – the face of the Fourth Hokage superimposing in front of Naruto as Sakura looked – and she didn't know how she hadn't seen the resemblance sooner.

But he was still Naruto. He still laughed and joked and caused trouble. While he was more serious now and took his career as a shinobi to heart, the youthful, troublesome twinkle never left his eyes.

Despite everything.

The only thing that had really changed was _them_. They were closer since the war. Instead of just teammates and sparring partners, they were real friends. The two were now practically inseparable and spent a good chunk of their free time together. It was something that Sakura had always needed from him – not a potential suitor asking her out on dates and following her around like a lost puppy – but a best friend.

"Are you coming?" he asked. His deep voice was a little strained. "We're going to be late."

Sakura bit her lip and her smile automatically became strained. She took off her white lab coat and hung it on the hook by the door. "Yeah, I'm coming," she finally agreed.

She pulled on a thick winter jacket before Naruto smiled back at her and led her out of the large building and onto the cold Konoha streets, draping his large arm around her shoulders to help keep her warm. This winter had been particularly brutal to the usually temperate country. Instead of the flurries of snow that they usually encountered, nearly a foot had been dumped onto the streets of Konoha before the New Year. The temperatures were at record lows and the entire town was bundled in their thickest jackets just to get through the days. After sundown, almost nobody bothered leaving their homes.

"He told me you haven't come to see him yet," Naruto remarked with forced nonchalance when they turned the corner from the hospital on the way to the Hokage Tower. Sakura stiffened underneath the weight of his arm, sniffling a bit through her cold nose.

"I haven't."

"But you've come and taken Juugo from the cell right next to his almost every week? And you haven't even said hi?" Naruto asked. Sakura could tell he was trying not to accuse her or anger her, but her ire rose nonetheless. So did her guilt.

"Yes," was her short reply.

"Listen, Sakura-chan, he's different now. He's not completely better, but there's been a big improvement. You have to give him a chance. You're speaking out for Juugo today, right?" Naruto asked. His voice was heartbreaking. Any time Naruto attempted to bring up the S-word in the past year and a half, Sakura would quickly change the subject or avoid talking about it. She knew it hurt Naruto to have her avoid his best friend like that, but Sakura just wasn't ready yet.

Too much had happened between them all. She wasn't as good as a person as Naruto was. She couldn't just forgive so easily.

Plus, _he_ reminded her of a different time; a time when she was weaker. She didn't want to regress to those times, and _him_ being back made her feel like that could happen. It scared her, honestly; she would never be weak again.

"He's been in jail for over a year and today is his first parole hearing. Could you just root for him to get out? Please? For me?" He was practically begging now.

Sakura sighed and looped her arm around his waist, resting her head on his shoulder. Anybody who didn't know them would think them a couple. "Alright, Naruto. I'll try, I promise."

When the finally entered the large hall that was being used as a courtroom, Sakura spied the four members of Team Taka sitting in a row in front of a large podium where Tsunade and the two village elders that made up the Konoha council were sitting. They were facing away from the main doors so she couldn't see any of their faces. Sakura growled under her breath and scowled at Homura and Koharu, and Naruto's hold on her shoulders tightened a bit; to suppress his own anger or to comfort her, she wasn't sure.

"Down girl," Naruto whispered with a forced chuckle. Ever since he came clean to Sakura about the Uchiha massacre – which had mostly been an accident because they had gotten completely drunk one night (the night Sasuke was sentenced to an indefinite amount of time in prison) and the idiot had spilled the entire story in a night of drunken delirium – Sakura had a hard time coming to terms with what her village had once done and her feelings towards Sasuke. That's when she realized why it was a secret – if she was having trouble dealing with it, then how would the less loyal shinobi or even civilians handle that kind of news?

The duo released each other when they entered the main floor and went up to the witness section where Kakashi, Morino Ibiki, and several others sat who would testify either for or against allowing the team out of prison. Since the witness podium was placed right next to the head of the room, Sakura was able to face her mentor and the two locked eyes. Tsunade gave her a grim smile and Sakura understood perfectly – Homura and Koharu had no intentions of letting the Uchiha out. If they did, he'd probably kill them.

Not that she blamed him. Sakura wanted them dead too.

Hoards of shinobi filed into the large meeting room and took their seats on long wooden benches that surrounded the main floor. Most of them were people who knew Sasuke – what was left of the Konoha Eleven, Iruka, Kurenai and her son, and many others. There were also some who were part of the effort to bring him home, those who fought in the war, and others who just wanted to know what would become of the last Uchiha this year.

Sakura turned and saw that on a raised platform towards the back of the room sat Gaara and his two siblings. How all three of them managed to get away from Suna for a week, she would never know. The Kazekage was looking around the room stringently, but his gaze softened a bit when his bright sea foam green eyes finally met hers. She quirked the side of her lip up in what she hoped looked like a smile, but the understanding look Gaara gave back told her she hadn't been able to pull it off.

From her new position, she could now see the faces of the prisoners who were having their hearing. Karin looked bored, Suigetsu had his usual toothy grin displayed, and Juugo looked worried. She caught the largest member's eye. She had spent the past year studying his condition and what chemically happened to his body when he lost his temper. During this time, she and Juugo had formed an interesting bond. At least once a week, she would be allowed to remove him from his cell and examine him in the hospital. It was incredibly interesting, Juugo's condition, and helped her understanding of Orochimaru's experimental practices grow to heights she had never imagined. Giving him a reassuring smile, her unlikely friend seemed to relax a bit and he smiled back.

Finally, Sakura shifted her gaze to the man at the end of the line. She couldn't tell since he was sitting down, but it looked as if he had grown even taller. His shoulders were broader than she remembered and his hair was longer. But he was still the same Sasuke – the same heartbreakingly familiar Sasuke who she had pined for and cried over since she was twelve. At least, that was, until the war. There was nothing like facing one of the most difficult, deranged shinobi in history to put one's priorities in order.

Suddenly, boys didn't seem so important to Sakura – especially after she had been left behind once again by her two teammates while they did all the fighting.

Sasuke glanced up in her direction, and they made eye contact for the briefest of moments before Tsunade cleared her throat and began the hearing, giving a thankful Sakura reason to move her eyes forward and onto her teacher.

Tsunade began in her most professional voice – Sakura was sure it was due to the Kazekage's presence – announcing the meeting. She read the charges that Sasuke and his team had been convicted of just over a year prior – treason, murder, attempted murder, use of forbidden jutsu, defection, etc. Then, she read his sentence: an indefinite amount of time in prison where the prisoners would be rehabilitated. A parole hearing would be held every year to ascertain their progress and determine if they were fit for release.

Sakura sat stock still, listening to her shishou and focusing on her upcoming testimony, which would simply be medical testimony of Juugo and the others. Then Tsunade began calling witnesses.

Ibiki was the first to be called, and the larger man made his way down to an uncomfortable wooden chair placed just below the area where the other witnesses were sitting. A small microphone was placed in front of him so his words could be heard throughout the entire room. Ibiki met with the four prisoners at least once a month to discern their mental status, so he was an integral expert witness. Tsunade questioned him, and then Homura and Koharu would then be allowed to question him in their own turn. Naruto was called, the Kakashi and even Sai. Guards from the prison were questioned about Taka's conduct and more.

With each passing witness, Sakura became more and more frustrated.

Homura and Koharu were attacking Sasuke left and right, drudging up the worst possible moments from his past. Each time they would stand to question a witness, they would make her former teammate relive what could have been some of the most horrible moments of his life – including the massacre. Not once did they mention the positive acts Sasuke had done. They didn't talk about how he killed Orochimaru, helped kill Madara and Obito, or how he had even fought after that. When a witness would bring up one of these acts, the elder who was questioning the witness would quickly side step the rebuttal.

All the while, Sasuke sat in his chair, stone-faced and impassive, as if he couldn't hear them at all.

Sakura gave Naruto a lot of credit when Homura and Koharu started their long winded attack against Sasuke while he was in the witness chair. He didn't raise his voice once, but simply defended his friend to the best of his abilities, astounding the entire room, Sakura included, with his newfound maturity.

Kakashi was inexpressive but didn't handle the verbal abuse as well as Naruto did, surprisingly. But Kakashi was excellent at verbal quips of his own and so his retorts couldn't even be considered disrespectful to the elders.

Sai was the most shocking testimony of all. In the middle of his questioning, right as Homura began to question him, he turned to Sasuke and thanked him for killing Danzou – right out loud and thanked him with that weird smile he always had. Sasuke actually looked surprised for a moment, the only sign of this being the slightest widening of his onyx eyes, which in turn almost made Sakura snort out loud.

Finally, Sakura heard Tsunade call her name. She moved stiffly, trying not to look in the direction of anyone in particular because if she did, she might just lose it. Her patience and temper were teetering on the edge. Moving down the stairs of the witness area and taking a seat to the side where she could see everyone except her fellow witnesses behind her, Sakura fidgeted nervously as she waited for Tsunade to start.

After several quiet, tense moments, Tsunade cleared her throat again and began to speak. Sakura focused on what Tsunade was saying, answering the questions and explaining Juugo's progress to the best of her abilities. It felt like a normal conversation with the Godaime, and she was able to lose herself to the facts, the medicine, ignoring Homura and Koharu the best she could. She must have talked for several minutes, but her time speaking with Tsunade seemed short. All too soon, Koharu stood up to address her.

"Haruno Sakura," the older woman greeted. Sakura gave her a curt nod. "Do you understand why you were not questioned on the matter of Uchiha Sasuke?"

"Yes," Sakura shot back shortly. Where was the old bat going with this? Her testimony wasn't even supposed to address Sasuke at all. "I have a conflict of interest."

"And what would that conflict of interest be, Haruno-san?"

Sakura huffed. "He is my former teammate."

Sakura looked up at Koharu and tried her best not to glance to where Sasuke and his fellow inmates were sitting.

"Ah, yes, your former teammate. I noticed you did not call him a friend, as many of your peers would call their teammates," Koharu muttered into her own microphone. "When was the last time you had any direct contact with Uchiha Sasuke?"

"The day before his trial last year," Sakura replied shakily. Clenching and unclenching her fists, Sakura tried to keep herself from losing her cool. Koharu nodded her head and looked down at a piece of paper she had.

"What did you two talk about before his trial, Haruno-san?" the older woman asked. Sakura bit back a rude retort.

"It was a personal conversation and had nothing to do with his impending trial," Sakura replied in a more professional voice than she thought herself capable at the moment.

The woman questioning her frowned at the young kunoichi's answer but moved on anyway. "What are your personal feelings towards your former teammate, Haruno-san?"

Bristling, Sakura shot the elder an unrepentantly disrespectful look. "May I ask what this line of questioning has to do with the physical or mental conditions of the three prisoners I was asked to assess, none of whom are Uchiha Sasuke?" she bit back.

"Why so disrespectful and short all of a sudden, Haruno-san? You did an excellent job of testifying to Tsunade-sama and have covered all bases for the other three. I am simply asking you a question," Koharu replied. However, her face was sharp and the woman didn't look pleased by Sakura's sudden impudence. "Now, what are your personal sentiments towards Uchiha Sasuke?"

Red. She saw red. Sakura tried to stop herself from shaking, but she couldn't. Clutching the hem of her medic's skirt, she turned her face to her lap so she wouldn't have to look at the two elders – or at Sasuke. She stayed silent.

When Koharu saw that it was going nowhere, she asked another question. "It is true that Uchiha Sasuke attempted to take your life on two separate occasions?"

There was a still silence in the room where suddenly all attention was on her. It was as if every person was suddenly holding their breath, waiting to see what she would say. Her previous fights with Sasuke were hardly secret and had even been addressed in his trial, but Sakura was one of the more influential shinobi in Konoha.

She was the apprentice to the Godaime, a medic at the hospital and in the field and was many times the first person that a shinobi saw when they woke up from what should have been their death. She was the angel that brought them back to their loved ones and home – a scary angel with a wicked temper and hard fist, but an angel nonetheless. She volunteered at the academy and the veterinary clinic and had a special bond with many of the children and parents in Konoha. Her perspective on what had occurred those many years ago could hold a lot of weight to those who would decide the fate of Uchiha Sasuke and his teammates.

Sakura thought of Naruto and her best friend's plea with her earlier. Sure, Sakura was still mad at Sasuke. She still resented him. He had left her behind all those years ago and had never come back – not for her. So what did she owe him? Nothing.

However, his imprisonment was wrong. He had suffered enough at the hands of the council, and she couldn't let it continue. Her conscious wouldn't let her. So, still clutching her skirt between her shaking, white fingers, Sakura mustered up the will to speak.

"I tried to kill him first," she finally murmured to her knees, barely audible.

"Are you saying that Uchiha-san was acting in self-defense?" Koharu scoffed instantly.

"No," Sakura shot back loudly and quickly, startling many others in the room who were not expecting such sudden vehemence. Her eyes were burning in fiery anger as she stared down the pitiful elder without remorse. Chakra began to flare through her system, and for the first time Sakura could remember, she couldn't control it. Grabbing the arms of the chair to keep herself grounded to reality, she realized that her hands were glowing green and chakra scalpels seemed to have formed of their own accord. Tsunade stood to stop the madness, but two figures suddenly appeared next to Sakura to control her sudden outburst.

A strong hand gripped her shoulder from her right and another grabbed her left hand. Sakura looked back and saw Kakashi standing behind her, holding her shoulder tightly in his gloved hand as if to hold her back and warn her simultaneously. His lone visible eye was burning, though, and he didn't look down at her. Instead, he set a deadpan stare right on the podium.

Naruto crouched to her right, his eyes dangerously angry, and held her left hand in his much larger hands. However, judging by the threatening glint in his eye, Sakura felt that perhaps she was reassuring him, holding him to his own reality, more than he was for her. So she squeezed the outsides of his hands with her lone one.

But perhaps that's what they were there for. Not to hold her back, but to hold her up when she felt like she was going to fall. Reassured by the presence of her friends, Sakura straightened herself back up and sent a challenging gaze towards the head podium once again, taking a calming breath and preparing for her continuation. Team Seven would stand united on this front, despite her personal feelings.

"I'm saying that I'm not innocent either. I'm a shinobi, a kunoichi, and a damn good one. I've killed for my village, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. That day, I was doing what I thought was best for my village, my friends, and even myself, and Sasuke was doing what he thought was best for himself too. So I'm not innocent. None of us are. Is it fair that we air out Sasuke's dirty laundry, spill all of his secrets, when there are many of us who should be on trial?" Sakura finally spoke in a much more confident voice than she thought possible.

There was an accusing lilt to her words and as her and the elder locked eyes, a silent war waged between the two. Sakura tilted her mouth up on one end to say simply: _Oh yeah, I know. And if you know what's good for you, you should shut up right here and now or the entire village is going to know your dirty secret._

The room tensed and Sakura could feel the burning gazes of those who knew the truth. Kakashi's grip on her shoulder tightened, a warning, but she ignored it. Sakura wouldn't say anything, and she knew her threat was empty the moment she spilled the words. It was just important that the two elders didn't know she was bluffing.

"We all have secrets, Koharu-_sama_. We all have done things that nobody else should ever know. Sasuke is one in the same," Sakura continued. "His life has been punishment enough. Should we really force him to live in prison?"

_You've done enough to hurt him. Let him go_. She was saying.

Koharu sighed and glared at her before nodding her head.

"No further questions, Haruno-san."

* * *

_"Sakura-chan." _

_She had to put chakra restraints on his wrists so he wouldn't jump out of the hospital. He would only hurt himself if he did. He would be right back at that training ground, pushing himself too hard._

_"Yes, Naruto?"_

_"You're the best person I know."_

_Sometimes he just said these things that stole her breath away. How she wished she could love him._

_"And you're better, Naruto. You're better."_

* * *

"Hurray, Sakura-chan!" Naruto cried out. Her hands were locked in his, and her bumbling idiot of a best friend swung her around in circles. Head thrown back, Sakura let out a wild laugh when she and Naruto finally fell down from their shenanigans. The streets were filled with people, shinobi and civilians alike, who were staring at the raucous duo with either looks of annoyance or amusement. Many others were still filing out of the meeting-room-turned-courtroom, and many of her peers were congratulating her on a job well done. Her little speech had suddenly made her the hero of the trial. Sakura grinned at her own confidence, although she was still shaken on the inside from her burning anger. There was clapping from her other friends, who congratulated her fervently for standing up for herself. "You got Sasuke-teme out!"

"Conditionally, Naruto," Kakashi reminded, but the crinkle in his eye spoke leagues of his pleasure for the situation as well. "You are a rebel, Sakura-chan."

He ruffled her hair, earning a light smack on the shoulder from Sakura. Sai approached her and awkwardly hugged her, only ending it when his hands slipped lower and he tried to feel her ass and Sakura drove her fist into his side. Sakura giggled when Ino jumped on her back, putting her full weight on Sakura. Although Ino didn't care for Sasuke and his snarky attitude, she was still thrilled that Sakura had stood up for herself. It was about time her best girlfriend _really_ showed the world what she had to offer. It was coming out, Sakura's independence, little by little, but today was a huge step.

"You go Forehead!"

Shikamaru patted her on the shoulder, and Chouji pushed a full back of chips into Sakura's hands in celebration. Kiba called for drinks, which Kakashi quickly shot down, citing that most of them were not yet eighteen and still technically underage. The celebration ended up moving to training ground two, which was a wide open field that had several picnic tables and was used more as a recreation area for the practicing academy students than a training ground.

Snow covered the open field, but on top of a low hill at the back of the training ground, a small pavilion sat that was temporarily tented in thick boards to keep the heat in and the cold out. Thanks to a few strategically placed katon jutsu, the shinobi were able to temporarily forget the frigid winter and enjoy the evening.

Chouji's mom brought a portable barbeque grill and made food for the members of the Konoha 11 who were present – everyone minus the deceased Neji, Shino and Lee who were on missions, and Hinata who had a clan meeting to attend. Kakashi and Genma also came as did Iruka and many others stopped by throughout the day.

The shinobi who, although kept their perhaps less-than-pleasant personal feelings towards Sasuke quiet, had thought his punishment harsh. He had done a lot during the war to help Konoha, and most of the Leaf's ninja felt that a long prison term was unforgiving and unnecessary.

So, together, they celebrated. Because tomorrow, for the first time in many years, Uchiha Sasuke would be released from prison a free man.

Conditionally, of course.

* * *

"_And then we do a much greater disservice to girls, because we raise them to cater to the fragile egos of men. We teach them to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller. We say to girls, 'You can have ambition, but not too much. You should aim to be successful, but not too successful, otherwise, you will threaten the man.'" – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie_

* * *

_**-o-owari-o-**_

* * *

**I will do my best to update the next chapter rapidly! Also, with the exception of caffeine, reviews are my drug. Feed my habit, people. Love, Yuuago-chan**


	2. Athena's Plight

**Title: **Fortis et Liber

**Author: **yuuago-chan

**Rating: **PG-13/T

**Genre: **Adventure/Friendship (subject to slight change)

**Pairing: **None as of now (subject to change)

**Type: **Continuous (Incomplete)

**Written: **January 14-January 21

**Last Edited: **January 23

**Words: **5,622

**Disclaimer: **Standard disclaimers apply. I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. If I did, things would be a lot different.

**Summary: **She is strong. They never knew it because they never paid her enough mind to see that she was growing faster than they could ever give her credit for.

**Author's Note: **Okay, so let me just give a huge THANK YOU to those who already favorited/reviewed/followed this story. It means a lot, especially for a story that isn't a romance. Those tend to be a lot more popular.

I also got a lot of compliments on the quote at the end of the chapter. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is an amazing writer and speaker. That particular quote is from a TED talk she did. You can find it on YouTube, and I highly suggest you all watch it. It's so insightful and she's such a good speaker.

So let me know if Sasuke gets a little OOC in this chapter. I'm trying to balance him becoming a different person post-War and his normal cantankerous personality.

Thanks for all the support so far guys. You're the best!

* * *

_**Fortis et Liber**_

_**Chapter 2: Athena's Plight**_

* * *

"And therefore, the new protocol for electing a new Kage should the current be killed or otherwise incapacitated will be for the states of Sunakagure and Konohagakure…"

She was trying. She was trying really hard to pay attention. But this meeting was just so _boring_.

So she couldn't help it when her mind wandered to the poison that she had been working on for Gaara, especially now that she had discovered what she thought would be a usable antidote for it. It was tricky, and when she went to test the cure on the rats in the lab, the original toxin had killed them before she could even administer what she suspected to be the treatment. But she couldn't even administer the antidote to test it.

A frustrated noise left the back of her throat, attracting the attention of the person next to her. Shizune pinched her side when Tsunade shot Sakura a warning look from the microphone at the front of the stage. Blushing guiltily, Sakura rubbed the back of her head and focused on Tsunade's speech.

What one week ago had been the courtroom for Sasuke's trial was now a seating hall to announce the changes to the law that Tsunade and Gaara had agreed upon during their meetings that spanned the last week. The podium that had previously sat the two council elders and Tsunade was now an open stage, wrapping around to where the witnesses had sat the week prior. A row of chairs lined the back of the stage for the delegates and officials, while Sakura, Shizune, Temari, and Kankuro all stood behind them as their Kage's "guards."

The room was filled with jounin and chuunin level shinobi and other clan heads. So many people had showed up that there were ninja using chakra to hang from the walls and the ceiling. Even some off duty shinobi from Suna had made the trek to Konoha to see the official speech. Gaara would announce the changes to their treaties and laws when he returned, but it was still and honor to be at the official announcement.

The meeting was usually several hours long, as the both the Hokage and Kazekage made their own speeches, the new laws were read by Tsunade, and then a forum was held so the shinobi could ask questions about the changes.

The amazing amount of people in the cramped, stuffy hall lead to the entire room being ten degrees hotter than comfortable, especially since the heat was blasting due to the frigidly low temperatures outside. Sakura pulled on the collar of her thick corded, navy blue sweater. It had been so cold that morning when she had left her house that she had needed to triple her layers. Now she was so hot and uncomfortable that she was tempted to rip off her sweater, leaving her only in a tank top and her bindnigs.

"The succession for line of Kazekage and Hokage will now first go to the apprentice of the deceased or incapacitated Kage. If the Kage does not have any living or able apprentices, then the closest and most able member of his or her family will take the position until a new Kage can be elected by the council – with a great amount of weight being held on the preference of the people and shinobi –"

"You hear that Shizune?" Sakura whispered from the back of the stage with a sly smile. "If we off shishou, one of us gets the throne."

Bumping her hip against her senpai, Sakura giggled a bit and Shizune covered her mouth with her hand to stifle her own laugh. Kankuro couldn't help himself. From his position on the other side of Sakura, he was able to hear everything the Leaf kunoichi said.

His chuckle was audible, causing Gaara to whip his head around from the chair in front of Kankuro. Tsunade stopped her speech mid-word and turned to glower at the interruption. Sakura couldn't help it; she giggled again and Kankuro actually laughed, _laughed_, out loud.

Rolling her eyes, Tsunade sent one more warning look to her giggling apprentices and turned back to the microphone in attempts to finish her speech.

When the Godaime finally completed reciting the long list of laws and treaties that had been amended and changed during her meetings with the Kazekage, she finally sat down and waited for questions from the shinobi populous of Konoha. Most people had simple or short questions, so it wasn't long after the final parts of Tsunade's long speech that they were dismissed from the room.

* * *

"_Drink with me, Sakura-chan."_

"_No, Kankuro-san, I will not drink with you."_

"_Aw, why not?"_

"_I'm working, Kankuro-san." _

_He looked truly disappointed, crestfallen, even. He was spinning on the spare chair in the lab she was using playfully while she worked on the poison, injecting it into a rat and watching it spasm and die within seconds. He grimaced at the sight of the little screeching creature's expiration before flicking his legs on the side of the work bench and spinning on the chair again._

"_I'll drink with you tomorrow night, before you leave." _

_He smiled, big and happy and excited. That was better. Smiles are always better._

* * *

Sakura couldn't decide if the frigid temperature that hit her like an icy wall when she stepped out the door was refreshing or horribly uncomfortable, but she pulled on her thick red jacket and trudged along the streets towards her home. Stuffing her face into the collar of her coat, she stared at the ground, taking fast breaths as she tried to ignore the sharp piercing sensation in her lungs with each breath. Damn her for forgetting her hat this morning. She only made it a few blocks before Naruto caught up with her.

Slinging his arm around her shoulder, he greeted her with a wet kiss to her cheek that prickled and stung, the harsh bite of the cold nipping her flesh, when his warm lips left the red, chapped skin of her cheek.

"How many more loads do you have to bring over to the new apartment, Sakura-chan? Hinata-chan has a clan meeting now, so I have a few free hours. I thought I'd help bring over the last of the stuff," Naruto offered. The kyuubi regulated his temperature, so a jacket over his normal orange and black sweater did him just fine. No hat, no gloves; there was no need. Sakura cursed him under her breath. Too cold to pull her mouth from her jacket, Sakura nodded her agreement and made a grateful noise in the back of her throat.

"I still can't believe you're moving in with Ino," Naruto commented and wrinkled his nose. Sakura shoved him off her and bumped her hip into his playfully, still too cold to talk. Luckily, they were only a block away from her house. "She's just so high-maintenance."

"Ino-pig and I are only chuunin, Naruto-kun," Sakura chastised when they finally made it to her front porch. Sakura grabbed the silver key that lay in her pocket and forced it into the door. Finally, they entered her warm house and Sakura sighed contentedly. "Neither of us can afford our own place, and we both want to move out of our parent's house."

Naruto nodded. "But she's so obnoxious!" he whined. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"I'm used to obnoxious blonds," Sakura jabbed when she finally finished removing her winter clothes. Now that her thick shinobi pants and fluffy jacket were off, she was in a long, thick blue sweater that fell mid-thigh and black leggings. Naruto sputtered a weak comeback that she didn't even deign to register, so he followed her to her kitchen with a distressed look to his eye.

"I'm not obnoxious, Sakura-chan," he complained, but then he grinned devilishly. "I'm spunky!"

"Naruto, don't call yourself spunky. It's just odd," Sakura deadpanned. Pulling coffee out of the cupboard, she began the tedious task of filling the pot and turning it on. Her blood was still running cold from the air outside, and if her pricking fingers were any indication, she had been out in the cold too long as blood rushed through her veins to warm them. A nice, hot cup of coffee would only help the process.

"Are your parents still in Hot Springs?" Naruto asked, noting the empty and dark house. Sakura nodded.

"They're using the snow as an excuse for why they can't travel. I think they just want to extend their vacation," she sniffed in mock hurt. It was the first vacation her parents had taken since Sakura could remember, so she didn't fault her parents. Naruto slumped into a chair, grinning happily when Sakura set a warm muffin down in front of him.

"You're the best, Sakura-chan!" The sound came out muffled because Naruto had shoved half the muffin in his mouth at once.

"So you've told me, Naruto," Sakura commented. The moment there was enough coffee filling the bottom of the pot, Sakura grabbed her favorite mug – a deep green one with the caricature of a kunai, the cartoon weapon featuring fake eyes and smile – and dumped enough in before placing the pot back on the hot plate quickly.

It was strong and bitter and black and hot, but it was so amazing. The aroma filled the house, and the two friends sat in a contented silence, the only sounds were Naruto's munching on the muffin and the quiet drip of the coffee maker finishing off the pot.

"How's he doing?" Sakura finally asked quietly, her soft voice barely permeated in the room. Naruto looked up at her and shook his head.

"Nuh-uh, Sakura-chan. You can go talk to him yourself. I'm not relaying information back and forth anymore," he announced proudly in a loud, bold voice. Sakura rolled her eyes and grabbed a napkin, handing it to Naruto. The idiot had crumbs falling down all over his jacket, and several large pieces had fallen from his mouth onto his front when he had decided to speak.

"I will. Eventually," she sighed in response. She wasn't sure if it was the warmth of her toasty home or the sudden mid-afternoon lull in her day, but Sakura was suddenly incredibly exhausted. It had been a stressful few weeks; preparing for Team Taka's trial, doing interviews and assessments on the three members she was allowed, combined with the Kazekage's visit had been incredibly physically, mentally, and emotionally taxing on the young kunoichi.

Looking at the clock, she noted that it was almost two. She could still get some work in at the lab done before dinner with the team tonight, and sitting at home would only lull her into a nap, which she didn't have time for right now. The Kazekage and his entourage was leaving the day after tomorrow, and Sakura wanted to present them with at least a working formula for the antidote. "C'mon, let's go bring some stuff to my apartment, and then I need to get to work and you need to get to Hinata's."

"Right!" Naruto cried from excitement to see his (sort-of-but-not-really-because-he's-too-afraid-to-ask-her-out-officially) girlfriend. Naruto bound up the steps of Sakura's modest house in two big leaps, leaving his exasperated, but laughing, friend in his wake. At a more sedate pace, Sakura walked up the stairs and went to her room.

It was so bare now. Gone were the photos of friends and posters and racks with medical tombs and weapons. They were all packed away into boxes that were stacked in the corner. Her bed had a threadbare blanket and an old pillow pulled over it so she could sleep there, but the rest of her belongings were either in boxes here or at her new apartment. Grabbing two of the heavier boxes, Sakura walked out of the room with Naruto close behind her, balancing one on his head and two in his hands.

They bundled back up downstairs and began the short trip towards the apartment complex that was located conveniently between the flower shop, the hospital, and the Hokage tower. The kunoichi were paying a pretty penny for the apartment, but it was spacious, airy, and perfect for the two young females. Sakura's work at the hospital and Ino's part time job at her family's flower shop would pay for most of their rent, and their missions would fill in the gaps when they needed money.

Naruto chose to carry the three boxes he had taken on (much to Sakura's chagrin – she told him to take no more than two) in one large stack. They were wobbling dangerously by the time they got to the street, and by the time the duo had reached the end of Sakura's block, Naruto had slipped on a patch of ice and fallen right on his tailbone. To Sakura's eternal amusement, he caught all of the boxes after his fall.

What would normally be a five or ten minute walk into the hub of town and to the apartment building turned into a twenty minute fiasco of Naruto falling and dropping her things while they battled the snow and cold. The icy streets and below-freezing temperatures did not help Sakura's temperament at all, so when they finally got to the building and set her things down in her first-floor apartment, Sakura turned around and gave Naruto one glob on the head for his immaturity.

He just whined a bit out of reflex and grinned some more, massaging the side of his head in mock-pain. The apartment was a mess now, boxes stacked in every corner of the room and furniture haphazardly placed in the general area where Sakura and Ino thought they would be putting it.

The walls were painted a soft gray, allowing them to decorate accordingly and in whichever fashion they wanted, with the exception of their bedrooms. Ino had decided to paint her room a lilac purple, and had even gone as far as to stencil different flowers onto the walls; Sakura had never known that her bossy friend was actually talented with a paintbrush.

Sakura had chosen a muted pastel blue that would allow for a more sophisticated feel to her room. Her new bedroom would have black and white furniture, and her new comforter and blankets were a feminine gray with light blue decorations. For almost eighteen years, her bedroom had been bright pink, and honestly, she was sick of looking at the color every day. It didn't help that her hair was a shade of the color.

This was her chance to start over new, to be an adult.

When all was said and done, her new additions to her things resting in her dusty, unfinished new room, Sakura and Naruto parted ways outside the complex. He headed in the direction of the clan compound and she made a beeline for the hospital, hoping to make it there before her fingers froze off.

* * *

_The room, was warm, too warm, and Sakura stifled a yawn as her pen made another note on the mission report on the table in front of her. It was the entire second floor of the Hokage tower. A large room with tables and chairs for shinobi to fill out mission reports and meet with their teammates in confidence – no civilian was allowed in this room. _

_It had been an A-class reconnaissance on a small, developing country to the north. There had been an uprising, and Konoha was beginning to get worried that the actions of the disgruntled civilians would cut off Fire Country's trade with the Northern nations. _

_It had gone off without a hitch. These were the easiest mission reports to write up._

_It was too bad that _she wasn't supposed to be writing the report.

"_Ah, there's my favorite student."_

_Stupid, perverted, tardy teachers._

"_Kakashi-sensei, you're late."_

_She ground her words out, accentuating each with a click of her tongue._

"_This mission report was due _yesterday_, Sakura-chan. What's taking you so long?"_

_He ruffled her hair in mock-placation as he teased the lone female on his team._

"_Kakashi-sensei, take your hand off my head right now or I will remove it from your body."_

_He chuckled and patted her head once more before sitting down at the chair across from her, handing her a cup of coffee and taking the mission report from her._

"_Mou, mou, Sakura-chan. No need to be so mean."_

_She couldn't help it. She smiled at her former sensei and took a sip from the perfect coffee brew he had brought her. _

_She loved her boys no matter what._

* * *

"Hey, Forehead, you have a minute?"

She didn't – not right now. Because suddenly, things were going very right for Haruno Sakura. Quickly, Sakura stuck her needle into the convulsing rat on her work table and administered the antidote. Holding her breath while Ino came up to stand behind her, the petite nose of the blonde wrinkling unattractively at the sight, Sakura waited nervously. Finally, the rat's nerves seemed to reconfigure and the little rodent stopped convulsing. Instead, the poor little creature let out a small noise of contentment and laid down, nibbling on the piece of cheese that Sakura had just given it.

However, the point was, the rat was fine. He was alive. His nerves were no longer working against him.

"Yes!" Sakura cried out in joy and turned to throw herself on her companion. "I did it, Piggy!"

Ino patted her on the back and then pushed Sakura off of her. "Congratulations. All those brains in that ridiculously big head of yours has to be good for something, right?"

Her words had an attitude and snap to them, but the proud gleam and joking nature of Ino's words told Sakura how proud her friend actually was of her. Sakura grabbed the small white lab rat and put it into the small cage she had transported it in from the room where they kept of the test rats.

"Anyway, Bacon-chan, what do you need?" Sakura asked after wiping down the space where the rats had been with disinfectant. They walked down the hallway together from the labs to Sakura's small office. She put the rat in the corner so she could observe the long-term effects of the solution before giving it to Gaara.

"Well, Billboard-chan, I wanted to try doing that test on Juugo-san today. The one where I use my _Shintenshin no Jutsu_ technique on him, but I need a fantastic, ingenious, and completely gorgeous medic to help me monitor Juugo's condition while I do so," Ino grinned saucily. "I asked Shizune-senpai but she couldn't. So I just found you instead."

Sakura flicked Ino with a chakra-induced finger on her upper arm and sniffed dramatically at her. "So mean, Piggy."

Scowling, Ino rubbed what would surely become a bruise and stuck her tongue childishly out at her best female friend. Regardless of their differences, both kunoichi relied on the other heavily and wouldn't give up their relationship, now that they had it back and it was so strong, for the world. So they laughed casually down the hall and up several flights upstairs to where Juugo was currently residing.

However, when the giggling teenagers finally opened the door to Juugo's room, Sakura was incredibly surprised and disgruntled to see two more occupants than expected.

A lone ANBU stood on one end, leaning against the wall in the far corner, trying to be as unobtrusive and quiet as possible. His face was covered with a dog mask, and he was in standard-issue ANBU gear. Only the spikey brown hair and distinctively relaxed demeanor told Sakura that it was Yamato-taichou behind the mask.

On the other side of the rather large exam room, on a chair next to where Juugo sat on the examination bed, was the one and only Uchiha Sasuke. That explained the guard; if Sasuke was ever out of his home – which had been assigned to him by Tsunade and monitored day and night by ANBU – he was to have an ANBU-level escort with him at all times. Mostly, it meant that Sasuke had Kakashi following him around Konoha while the silver-haired jounin read his smut and did nothing all day.

Sakura faltered for a moment, but Ino hardly seemed surprised by the presence of the last Uchiha. "Ah, good, you're here," she commented offhandedly while brushing past Sakura and into the examination room. "I'm glad you agreed to come."

Sasuke grunted in response to Ino, his eyes flitting to her temporarily, before they landed on Sakura. It had been well over a year since the two had spoken face to face, and Sakura shuffled a bit. The pinkette cursed her best friend. This had been a well-planned, thoughtful ambush on her part. Ino had admonished Sakura a hundred times over for never seeing Sasuke, despite the fact that the Godaime's apprentice had testified for him at his trial.

"Sasuke," she finally acknowledged uncomfortably. Sasuke's deep onyx gaze held to her for several more contentious seconds before he nodded his greeting, giving her a similar grunt. Smiling weakly, Sakura turned to her patient in an effort not to pound Ino through the floor and right into the basement. "Juugo-san, how have you been feeling?"

"I've been well Sakura-san," Juugo politely responded, but Sakura could tell that Juugo was nervous. Anytime they decided to try something new on their eager, yet precautious, patient, Juugo would only serve to be more difficult to handle.

"Calm down, Juugo-san," Ino chirped from her side of the room where she was setting up a chair with arm and leg restraints. Sakura was sure they were most likely there by Juugo's request. "The more nervous you are, the harder it will be. Plus, Sasuke is here with us this time, and he can help to control you, ne?"

Juugo nodded solemnly, and Sakura stole a glance at the Uchiha brooding next to his teammate. That's why he was here – to ensure their safety if something went wrong with Juugo.

Orochimaru's most deadly experiment had only lost his temper on three occasions when Sakura had been examining him, and since she had examined him well over fifty times, that number was amazingly small. Almost all of the occurrences had been in the beginning of the experimentation.

The first time, Sakura had been examining him with only two other medics. When Juugo lost control, the frazzled and horrified kunoichi had to break several of his bones and knock him out using her chakra infused hits to keep him from killing everyone. It had led to almost an entire floor of destruction at the hospital, and Juugo had ultimately been launched from the room onto the ground below.

However, the Godaime Hokage had been thoroughly impressed that her apprentice had been able to control the savage state that Juugo was in. He should have theoretically been able to kill Sakura easily, but the younger kunoichi had stood her ground and proved herself in a nearly impossible situation – as she had done time and time again over the past few years.

Since then, Kakashi had always been nearby when Sakura was examining the dangerous ninja, just in case. Juugo lost control two more times since then, but Kakashi had been there in less than a heartbeat, Sharingan spinning dangerously, to induce a coma into the poor man.

Sakura pitied Juugo for what he had to go through. The man was truly soft-hearted and had vehemently chastised Sakura when she had tried to apologize after the first time he lost control of his emotions. Sakura had broken several of his bones and had given him a severe concussion in order to finally stop his rampage, not to mention threw him out of a window, but he wouldn't hear of it. The kind-hearted giant had broken down into tears, sobbing out his own set of apologies.

"Alright, so, Juugo-san, what I'm going to attempt to do is to enter your mind and dig around a bit. Sakura has already done what she can with your hormone therapy, and now I would like to see the emotional and mental causes of your strong physiological reactions to certain stimuli. Sakura and I believe we are close to a complete breakthrough with your treatment," Ino explained in thoughtfully cheery tone, trying to stay as upbeat as possible for the sake of everyone involved. Juugo nodded the entire time, soaking in the information. "Anything I find out will be kept between the people in this room and Tsunade-sama. No one else will learn of it, and we don't even have to tell the Uchiha brat over there if you don't want."

Sakura was sure she heard Sasuke scoff, and she couldn't help but let out a light giggle at the blonde's jab of her former teammate. Sasuke wasn't used to being teased by anyone but Naruto and Kakashi, and if a woman who had formally been head-over-heels in love with him to mock him was sure to hurt his ego a bit.

Ino motioned for Juugo to sit in the chair in front of her, which he did nervously. She strapped him into the restraints and forced her chakra into the pieces of thick leather so Juugo would have a harder time ripping through them. The blonde then took a seat across from him, and Sakura stood behind him, placing her hands delicately on his temples.

One last nod from Ino and Sakura's chakra pervaded Juugo's mind. This was familiar, at this point, and his brain allowed the insouciantly warm chakra of the medic to enter his brain and system. Then Juugo's eyes opened and Ino's hands were circled, her index finger and thumbs touching. Sakura felt the flare of Ino's chakra and Juugo's body suddenly went limp beneath her fingers.

Then, slowly, Sakura felt Ino's chakra ebb into the mind of the patient beneath her and invade the area slowly. Ino's own body was slumped defenselessly in the chair only two meters away. Yamato, sensing her helplessness, shifted closer so that if Juugo really did snap, he would be able to grab Ino's body before harm came to it.

Sasuke sat quietly in the corner, but his entire body was strung taught with tension. If anything were to happen, he would be ready to fly into action; Sakura could deduce as much since his black eyes had bled red.

Ino's chakra looped inside of Juugo's mind for approximately thirty seconds before the familiar prickling of Juugo's senses began to alarm Sakura. Gripping his head a little tighter, she weaved her chakra to his pituitary gland, which was now pumping testosterone out faster than she had ever seen. Her chakra forcibly clamped down on the gland while simultaneously working to slow the production of the hormone. It took her only a moment to do that, but by the time she had completed her task, it was too late. Juugo's adrenal gland had filled him to the brim with adrenaline and there were dangerous amounts of testosterone floating around in his body.

Sakura jumped back and, having sensed the threat immediately, Sasuke was in front of the larger man when he roared to life. He had kicked Ino out of his head moments before, and the blonde sprung to life and action, ready to defend herself if Sasuke's methods of subduing the grotesquely transforming patient failed. Juugo's restraints were broken immediately, but the man didn't get far.

"Juugo," Sasuke intoned in an icily quiet voice. It was deadly and made Sakura's blood run cold. Said male stopped his rampage before it could even begin and looked dead into Sasuke's eyes. Then, Juugo's own eyes promptly rolled to the back of his head and he fell onto the floor with a resounding _thunk_.

Sakura bent down to immediately check on her unconscious patient, and after determining he was just fine, decided it was best to get him into bed. With a little chakra, Sakura singlehandedly pulled the much larger man up and onto the bed. Ino, having never seen one of Juugo's episodes in real life, was a bit shaken but otherwise unharmed.

Overall, the attempt had been a failure, but they had to do whatever they could to help Juugo live a normal life. For almost a year, Sakura had been giving him different medications to reduce his testosterone and adrenaline production, but nothing would stop the sudden spike if something were to upset the man. Normally, the production of these two hormones in Juugo was already incredibly low, but suddenly, they would jump, sending the former experiment into a blind rage.

She scowled a bit while tucking Juugo into bed, pulling the covers tenderly around him and fluffing his pillow a bit.

This was a conundrum indeed.

When she turned back around, she found Sasuke staring at her oddly while Ino scribbled in her notebook furiously, trying to record whatever she could remember from her short time in Juugo's head.

"Alright, Forehead, I'll get you a more legible copy of this tomorrow sometime. Until then, I have dinner with my mom tonight, so I'll see you tomorrow," the blonde said quickly. She pecked a flustered Sakura on the cheek and bolted out the door before the pinkette could even respond with her own goodbye.

Yamato took one look around the room and quietly excused himself to use the bathroom. He could sense that the two shinobi left needed a moment to talk with one and other, and he was sure that Tsunade-sama wouldn't fault him for leaving them unattended for only a few minutes.

So that's how Sakura found herself standing next to her former teammate, who she had not had any direct contact with over the past year. Trying to diffuse some of the tension and in an effort to ignore the odd way Sasuke was (still) staring at her, Sakura chuckled weakly and rubbed the back of her head.

"Well, that was…eventful," she commented lamely. Sasuke raised a single black eyebrow at her.

"Ah," he agreed quietly. His inscrutably apathetic face was back in place and Sakura shifted a bit.

"How's being sort-of-free?" she asked. There was a long silence before Sasuke spoke again – the first real words he had said to her.

"Better than prison."

Sakura's responded chuckle was strained. "That's good," she said. "Well, I have to go check on a lab rat downstairs, so I'll be going."

She quietly walked to the door, tucking Juugo's patient file under her arm.

"Sakura."

His voice cut through the tensioned air even though his words were gruff but quiet. Sakura turned around to face him, really look at him, and she could see the discomfort in his eyes. He shifted his weight back and forth for a moment before finally saying, a little louder, "Thanks. You know, for the trial. And for helping Juugo. For everything."

Something welled fully within Sakura, and her exuberant smile she shot at him was genuine. She nodded once more, this time much more enthusiastically, and the kunoichi went to leave the room when Sasuke's voice stopped her again.

"And if you want to get away from me so bad, think of a better excuse than a lab rat. It was rather lame, Sakura," he commented dryly. First, Sakura was stunned into silence by the fact that _Uchiha Sasuke had just made a joke_. But then her confusion quickly gave way to irritation.

"There really is a rat in my office that needs tending to!" she retorted hotly. There was the slightest pull at the end of Sasuke's lips that told her he was amused and smiling. Time seemed to have changed quite a bit in her stoic former teammate. The giddiness she had been feeling before had returned, and before she could truly think through her actions, the medic spoke again.

"Sasuke." The Uchiha met her gaze and waited for her to finish. "Sai just got back from a mission, so Team Seven is getting together for dinner at Ichiraku's tonight. Would you like to join us?"

Sasuke was quiet for several moments, his face darkening considerably, and Sakura suddenly worried that she had said or done something very wrong. Sasuke's answer was stoic, but she could tell something was bothering him greatly.

"I shouldn't be there." But Sakura heard it for what it was. _I don't deserve to be there_.

She grimaced a bit but stood tall. She wouldn't back down – Sasuke needed his teammates, old and new, right now.

"Sure you should Sasuke," she replied cheerily. _You may not deserve it, but you should still be there. We want you there._

Sasuke read the message loud and clear, so after another quiet moment of contemplation, he nodded. Sakura beamed. "Alright. Ichiraku's at seven. See you in a bit."

There was an affirmative grunt, but Sakura was already out the door and practically skipping down the hall. She was on cloud nine. Her teammates were back, everyone was safe and at home with the exception of her vacationing, happy parents, and her relationship with Sasuke seemed to be on the mend.

The only thing that could possibly make her feel even better, did. When she returned to her office to get her coat and drop off her notes from Juugo's examination, Sakura saw that the little rat was thriving, running on its wheel rapidly and had ate all its dinner. More tests needed to be run, but Sakura had managed to come up with a plausible and seemingly very affective cure to the Suna poison.

Her chest inflated with pride. Even the cold weather couldn't dampen her mood when she stepped out of the hospital and onto the freezing streets.

* * *

"_Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim." ― Nora Ephron_

* * *

_**-o-owari-o-**_

* * *

**I will do my best to update the next chapter rapidly! Also, with the exception of caffeine, reviews are my drug. Feed my habit, people. Love, Yuuago-chan.**


	3. Rikki-Tikki-Tavi

**Title: **Fortis et Liber

**Author: **yuuago-chan

**Rating: **PG-13/T

**Genre: **Adventure/Friendship (subject to slight change)

**Pairing: **None as of now (subject to change)

**Type: **Continuous (Incomplete)

**Written: **January 25-February 1

**Last Edited: **February 3

**Words: **5,168

**Disclaimer: **Standard disclaimers apply. I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. If I did, things would be a lot different.

**Summary: **She is strong. They never knew it because they never paid her enough mind to see that she was growing faster than they could ever give her credit for.

**Author's Note: **Warning: this chapter covers a lot of time very quickly. In an attempt to capture the more important events in Sakura's (should-be) future life, I will need to jump through time quite a bit in this story. Rather than live her day-to-day life, I would like to cover many years of her adulthood. I do my best to include the important things, but please understand that I can't follow her every move and still make it an enjoyable story. Thank you for your understanding.

Next, thanks for all the support. I would love to hear what you guys think, more, though. But I really appreciate those who are following and favoriting and reviewing. Tell your friends ^_^

We get into pre-plot this chapter. This is the plot that causes what will be a good chunk of the plot of this story. Enjoy!

* * *

_**Fortis et Liber**_

_**Chapter 3: Rikki-Tikki-Tavi**_

* * *

The next six months passed rabidly for Sakura. After the Kazekage left, Sakura moved into her apartment with Ino. They spent weeks decorating their new abode to their tastes – refined for the young adults they were turning into, but still feminine and young with flowing curtains, light colors, plush and comfortable furniture, and lots of candles. Sakura spent her days training and seeing her friends when she wasn't working.

Her relationship with Sasuke, while still stilted and slightly contentious, was improving each time they saw each other. And, still working in the research department at the hospital and taking mission, Sakura was incredibly surprised when winter bled to spring, and soon, her friends were asking her what she would like to do for her eighteenth birthday.

It was a raucous affair. Being the apprentice of the Hokage had its perks. Tsunade worked the mission schedule so that the remaining members of the Konoha Eleven would all be in the village for Sakura's most important birthday. So, with all of her friends present, Sakura drank legally for the first time and danced the night away at a local bar and pub. Even Sasuke and Team Taka came to the celebration, although they kept to themselves most of the evening, along with Kakashi-sensei and some of the older jounin. Many members of the medical staff at the hospital and some of Sakura's most regular patients, like Genma and Anko, made their own appearances.

Sakura enjoyed watching Hinata and Naruto, who were a recently formed (official) couple, spend the evening talking quietly to themselves in the corner near where Sasuke and Taka sat. Instead of her best friend challenging anyone he could find to a drinking contest, he was calmer and more sedate around his girlfriend. The blond had managed to summon the courage to ask out the Hyuuga heiress on White Day, saving all of his money to buy Hinata a simple diamond necklace, which the Hyuuga loved instantly and now wore all the time.

Sakura spent most of the night with Ino and Kiba, who had decided to be the life of an already animated party by jumping onto tables – pulling a reluctant Sakura with – and dancing for a good chunk of the evening.

The weekend passed quickly, and Sakura was back at work the following Monday.

Once again, time seemed to skip ahead faster than she could keep up, and she was trading in her light spring sweaters for shorts and her red vest. Ino had then decided, the first day that Sakura chose to don her staple choice of clothing, that her best friend needed to update her wardrobe.

They spent an entire day shopping for new clothes for Sakura – mostly at one store that sold shinobi attire. The clothes at the little staple shop were made to last and relatively cheap, seeing as shinobi went through clothes faster than they went through weapons.

Sakura bought several mesh shirts and tank tops; which she told Ino she would never wear, but they secretly made her feel more like an adult kunoichi and possibly a little more sexy. She got tighter fitting cotton shirts, shorter shorts, and some new skirts with slits up the sides. She traded in the heeled medic boots for shorter sandals because she was taking missions that included more travel. They were shorter and lighter weight, but she went for black this time instead of the darker blue from her childhood.

Other than that, Ino talked her into buying some summer dresses at a nearby boutique, as well as some flowing skirts and nicer blouses for the days that Sakura didn't work or have mission ("Which is never, Ino-pig" "Just buy the damn dresses, Forehead-girl")

The week after she went shopping with Ino, Sakura went to go collect Sasuke for some light training with Naruto and Sai, but she was surprised when nobody answered the door. Sasuke was usually good at greeting people, surly and crabby of a greeting as it may be.

She had already seen Suigetsu and Karin in town with their ANBU guard, and they had told her that Sasuke was at home. When she inquired the guards that were perpetually stationed outside of Sasuke's house, they merely shrugged their shoulders and assured the Uchiha was inside but hadn't made an appearance outside yet today.

So, Sakura, being the conscientious (nosy) friend that she was, broke in through the window upstairs. She had decided to leave Naruto outside because he was rarely sensitive, and if Sasuke was having a bad day, Sakura was more likely to be thoughtful of his emotional condition.

She found him in his bedroom at the end of the hall with a sake bottle and photo frame in his hands, his head hung low.

"Sasuke?" she questioned quietly. He made no move to greet her or beckon her into the room, so she quietly took a few steps into the dark, dreary bedroom and made her way towards the neatly made bed where her former teammate was slouched over the side. The curtains were shut tightly and none of the lamps were on, so the only light in the drab room was coming from the hallway outside.

Kneeling down in front of him, she slowly took the sake bottle from his hand and placed it on the floor. He let her, but his grip on the photo frame tightened. Her breath was low and shallow, almost to keep the desperate contentious quiet in the room at the current quo. It could be cut like a knife and made Sakura nervous, but she didn't want to disturb the obviously fragile mental state of her friend.

Touching his hand, the one that was grasping the picture frame desperately, Sakura went to push it down so she could see the photo. Sasuke startled suddenly, his hands lashing out at whoever was around him and it made Sakura jump back to defend herself out of instinct. A kunai was in her hand with her arms in front of her in a defensive stance before she even realized what was going on. She was standing a few feet away now and was shocked to see the wild look in Sasuke's eye, as if he had been woken from a deep slumber.

"Sakura?" he asked, stunned, when he turned to look at her. He had clearly not been mentally sound a few moments before, and it was as if his conscious mind was slowly rejoining his body. The wild look in his onyx eyes was gone now, and they were more shocked and alert than anything. It quickly simmered down into his apathetic exterior and he set a blank stare onto her, almost accusingly.

"S-s-sa-sasuke," she stuttered. Her adrenaline was racing from the little start, but his sudden awareness calmed her. Sakura had never realized the depth of Sasuke's mental instability.

Sasuke saw the shock in her eyes and took a moment to look around the room, silently scoping it out to find out who had surprised her and forced the current defensive stance. If he was surprised that it was he who had almost attacked her, he didn't show it.

"What're you doing here?" he asked blankly. He carefully set the photo down on his bedside table, and Sakura was able to get her first good look at it. A young Sasuke was riding on the back of his older brother. Sasuke, who couldn't have been more than seven or eight at the time, was sleeping soundly, his head resting on his aniki's shoulders and arms draped loosely around his neck. What surprised Sakura was the endearing look of love in Itachi's eyes as he gazed back at his slumbering otouto, his own arms firmly holding little-Sasuke's legs.

She was searching for answers mentally, trying to remember what had stirred this current situation, and then it hit her: it was June 9th, Itachi's birthday. She had seen the date on his case file when they were hunting him down in order to find Sasuke.

"Sasuke," she said back, her emerald eyes losing the defense in them. Her barriers came down and she kneeled down next to him once again, letting the kunai drop back into her pouch. Her voice was soft and caring, and it if Sasuke was a lesser man, he would have flinched at the tone. Instead, his eyes just widened slightly. "Drinking yourself into a coma once a year isn't going to bring him back."

His shoulders stiffened and eyes narrowed. Large hands clutched his knees, like the action would hold him down into reality and save his temper from flying off. "You don't know anything!" he barked.

"I…" she trailed off for a moment, trying to think of what she would say next. She didn't want to anger or offend him; all she wanted to do what comfort him, but she was at a loss of how to do that. So she went with her gut. She laid a hand onto his knee and over his larger hands lightly. This time, he did flinch at the caring gesture since such intimate contact was foreign to him.

"I could never understand what you're going through or what you went through. But I also know that I'm right, and I know that you don't have to deal with this by yourself anymore. You're here now and you have people who are going to be here for you. The only isolation you have now is self-imposed."

"Maybe I like the isolation," he shot back instantly, but the grip on his knees was weakening and he didn't rebuff her hands from covering his when her smaller finger began rubbing gentle circles into the tops of his soothingly.

"Maybe you do, but I don't think so. You wouldn't have come back here and faced jail time if you wanted to be alone. You would have built yourself a cabin in the woods somewhere. Instead, you came back," she replied in her most gentle voice – the ones she used for frightened patients at the hospital or on the battlefield. Sasuke wasn't making eye contact with her, but she was sure that he was listening, not just hearing, but _listening _and thinking about what she was saying_._

There was a long stretch of silence between the two, and Sakura gave her friend time to think, to mull over her words. Finally, he looked up at her and nodded. The kunoichi smiled at him and lifted herself from her kneeling position next to him.

"Sai, Naruto, and I were about to go train. Do you want to join us? Or would you rather stay away from Naruto today? He can be…uh…insensitive," Sakura murmured sheepishly. She loved her big blond idiot, but he lacked certain tact in situations like this.

Sasuke smirked a little, and just like that, normal Sasuke was back. "No, I'll come. Beating the dobe into a bloody pulp may be exactly what I need today."

Sakura rolled her eyes and shoved him in the shoulder a bit. Sasuke's firm form didn't waiver and he stood. "Alright," she sniffed. "I'll wait outside, and you should take a shower. You stink."

This time, to her surprise, Sasuke shoved her back in the shoulder playfully. Although she stumbled a bit, she couldn't help but let out a genuine laugh as she made her way down the stairs and out the door.

It was going to be a good day.

* * *

"_You need a haircut, Forehead."_

_A snappy retort was on her tongue, but Sakura took a moment to think about what her roommate had said. She twirled a long lock of hair in her fingers and realized that the piece she was holding was supposed to be her bangs. They fell past her chin._

"_Alright, Ino-pig. Cut my hair."_

_Ino smiled wickedly and approached her with a spray bottle in one hand and scissors in the other._

* * *

In late June, Sakura was awoken suddenly by a loud knock on her front door that had her tumbling off the couch where she had fallen asleep watching a cheesy romance and eating ice cream. Ino and several of her other friends were on missions, so she had been a bit lonely the past few days – the perfect excuse to treat herself a bit.

Regardless, she sprang up from the hardwood floors and ran to the door. She didn't sense any malicious chakra, so she ripped the door open with bleary eyes and a curse on her tongue.

"Haruno-san," the ANBU interrupted before she could say anything. Her attention snapped to the unfamiliar presence with her mind now on high alert. If she hadn't been so startled, she would have been embarrassed by her appearance – short pink hair sticking in all directions, a tight pink tank top and no bra, and short women's boxer underwear. It was hot and air conditioning is expensive, so she went minimalistic when Ino wasn't around to whine about the humid air.

"ANBU-san," she greeted quickly.

"You are needed at the front gates as soon as possible. There is a rescue mission for you. Timeframe is two to seven days, so pack accordingly. Your team and Hokage-sama will meet you there," the ANBU spoke quickly but distinctly. Then he was gone.

Sakura shut her door swiftly and flew back into her room. Her pajamas were off and she was binding her chest before she could process what was going on. Everything was moving mechanically; her practiced motions proof of the dozens of missions she'd taken. It had been a while since she had been called out for an emergency mission, though.

But she was experienced in these cases as well. Dress in darker colors, bring a hat or hood to cover her hair in case it was needed, and pack sparsely in clothes and heavy in weapons. She pulled on black shorts that were shorter than her old ones – they passed just below her fingertips. A dark blue skirt that slit up both sides for easier movements was next and a matching blue shirt went over her bindings. Then she pulled on a mesh shirt, and then her shin guards and sandals.

She was running out of her bedroom door with her backpacks and pouches, checking them as she went. Sakura, being as methodical as she was, always had a backpack with clothes and other mission necessities packed. Her weapon and medical pouches were always stocked. Grabbing a granola bar and an apple in the kitchen, she locked and sealed her door before jumping out of the first floor window of her apartment.

She had barely landed at the front gate when Tsunade had begun talking.

"A team of jounin was brought to the hospital less than an hour ago. They were on an A-ranked espionage mission. We were informed before all of the members of the team lost consciousness that they had captured the squad leader. Her name is Hozoki Seia. In your mission scroll you will find her description," Tsunade barked and began throwing out mission scrolls to each member of the four man squad.

The Hokage was dressed in clothes she had been wearing the day before, and judging from the dark circles under her eyes, the Godaime hadn't gotten much (or any) sleep so far. Sakura wanted to worry and fretter over her shishou, who was clearly pushing herself too hard again, but she knew that now wasn't the time.

She took a moment to look around the small group of shinobi around her. Kiba was standing next to her, his face sleepy and drooping from the sudden wakeup call they had all received. Akamaru was nowhere to be found, which concerned Sakura a bit, but since Kiba didn't seemed worried about his furry companions absence, she figured her knew where his canine was. Sakura felt a stab of pity for Kiba – he had just returned from a three week mission the day before, and now he was being called out immediately again. Lee was on the other side of him, nearly vibrating out of his skin from the excitement for yet another mission. Just beyond him was Shino, who was placid as always. Interesting, Sakura noted. They were all chuunin ranked ninja. This seemed more of a job for jounin or ANBU.

"You will find Hozoki-san and bring her back, dead or alive, to Konoha. Her family possesses a unique kekkei genkai, and we cannot allow it to fall into enemy hands," Tsunade continued. Sakura pulled open the mission scroll and scanned the details quickly before tucking it into one of her pouches. The team that was assembled was very appropriate. Both Kiba and Shino were trackers but also had a vast arsenal of taijutsu and ninjutsu. Lee was incredibly speedy, and if they were infiltrating a house or base to rescue their victim, then he would be the best choice for close-combat. "They were attacked on three-country juncture of Grass Country, Waterfall Country, and Fire Country. The point is marked on a map in your scroll. Start there."

The team nodded and Tsunade continued, scanning the faces of the team she had assembled. "Hatake Kakashi will be the captain of this mission, but he has been instructed to hold back on his orders to you. This is an A-rank rescue mission."

All four of them stiffened with anticipation. Sakura grinned, and her shishou seemed to understand their shared excitement.

"Besides the fact that this was the right team to assemble, you are all on the roster for jounin promotion. In fact, you are all one B-rank mission or above to qualify for jounin. That's why you are all here. While Kakashi will be in charge, one of the reasons he has been asked to stay sidelined during this mission is because as jounin, you will be expected to make decisions for yourselves. You will need to work as a cohesive unit to achieve your objective," Tsunade explained. "Kakashi has gone ahead slightly with his pack of mutts to track the hostage and her captors. Akamaru is with him, so they should be easy to find. Good luck."

The team needed no more instruction and set off into the woods together. There was little talking between them. It was mostly Kiba giving instructions on where to find Kakashi, but there was this understood camaraderie between the four of them suddenly – this feeling of 'we're in this together now.'

Sakura's body was coursing with adrenaline, and she had to stamp down the urge to fly through the trees using chakra. She knew that she would need it later. Lee seemed to be thinking the same because she could visibly see the twitching of his muscles wanting to soar ahead.

They ran for several hours, and Kiba confirmed that Kakashi was moving ahead of them, tracking the hostage and her abductors northward. It took them a full day of travel, resting when they had to. They spent their short breaks looking through scrolls and theorizing the identity of the idiots who had decided to capture a Leaf-nin. Not many were foolish enough to embark on such a ludicrous task now that Leaf had practically lead the most recent war.

The sun was setting to the west, barely leaving enough light to find the elusive copy-ninja when they arrived at the abduction point. Finally, the group came upon Kakashi sitting on a tree. He was feeding the pack of dogs, including Akamaru, and congratulating them on a job well-done.

"Yo," he greeted with an eye crinkle and wave. Sakura smiled at him. "Here's the plan," he began instantly when the group assembled around him, "The trail leads us right across the border into Grass Country, but I do not believe it was Grass ninja who did this."

"You don't think it was grass ninja?" Kiba asked. There was no disrespect in his voice, but he had been suspicious that it was Grass-nin the entire them they had been running. It was one of the few things they spoken about on their travels, and Kiba had been vocal in proclaiming Grass' guilt. He had a few bad missions that had included Grass-nin, and they had even been absent from the last chuunin exams.

"They have been hit by a major drought this year after such a hard winter, and their economy is suffering massively," Sakura explained methodically. She had her suspicions of Grass, but she did not think they were the main party responsible. "They wouldn't last a week in a war with Konoha."

Kiba nodded and the group shifted their attention back to Kakashi. "We will sleep tonight since we are still within our borders," he said. "We will examine the area in the morning into tomorrow and hopefully stage a rescue late tomorrow night. So make sure you get your rest. Watch will be held in three hour rotations."

The group split to their respective tasks and set up camp. Sakura took a moment to look at Kakashi. Now that they were all older and this mission was so much more serious than many of the others they had done together, his entire tone and body posture had changed. He was in full captain mode, his entire focus on their hostage and the best way to get her out alive.

"You alright, sensei?" she asked once camp was set up. She and Kakashi had taken first watch. Lee and Shino would take the next, and Kiba offered to do the last shift with Akamaru.

"Aa, Sakura-chan," he replied, patting her head lightly. "Kusagakure just holds many memories for me. Few of them are good ones."

Sakura nodded her understanding and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"You know, my entire future relies on your performance review to the Hokage for this mission, sensei," Sakura commented sleepily. She was trying to keep his mind off of the many deep demons of her sensei's past. Now that she had a few hours to stop running, her muscles were protesting and strained.

"Yes, I know, Sakura-chan," Kakashi mumbled. He sounded tired too.

"If you don't give me a good review, I'll make sure you have a full physical when you get back home," Sakura threatened half-heartedly. Pulling herself off of her sensei so she wouldn't fall asleep on his way-too-comfortable shoulder, Sakura yawned and took a moment to slide a glance his way. His one visible eye was dancing with humor. "When was the last time we checked your colon, sensei?"

"Mou mou, Sakura-chan. Threats aren't good ways to get what you want," Kakashi replied in a strained voice. The humor was out of his eye at the thought of the procedure. "Bribing me would be much more effective."

Sakura giggled and knocked her shoulder against his. "I'll clean your apartment and give all of your nin dogs baths!" she promised in mock-earnest.

"Throw in a chakra-infused back massage and you've got yourself a deal," he chuckled back. Sakura giggled and jumped up. "I'm going to check the traps."

"Alright. Just be careful," Kakashi replied. He pulled open his Icha Icha the moment Sakura was out of the clearing.

Sakura moved quietly through the trees. They were growing sparse now that they were so close to Grass Country. Kusagakure was filled with small, but deep jungles. Between the isolated areas of jungle, there were long areas of thick and tall grasses. So the forests of Fire Country were thinning into a great expanse of dangerously long grass and marsh.

The team had set several genjutsu traps as their third line of defense. Checking to make sure there was nobody caught in one of her masterfully crafted traps, Sakura moved past them expertly and then continued to where Kiba and Lee had set weaponry traps. Those were all fine, so she went to their first line of defense – explosive tags that would hopefully be triggered by a ninja should they decide to fly through the trees towards them. The tags were low-level, used more to warn their squad than maim or kill the enemy.

She was on her way back to camp when she felt the slightest shift in the air. There was an unfamiliar chakra nearby. Sakura knew that she should not upset the unknown, so she continued to make her way stealthily back to camp. Her feet and breath made not a sound, and her chakra was completely masked. So when the chakra continued to hone in on her, she knew that it was someone coming for her.

It was getting closer and closer, and anonymity was no longer the priority. She needed to get back to her camp, to her allies. She broke out into a full run and began pulsing her chakra lightly. It wouldn't alert anybody who didn't know her, but Kakashi was tuned into her chakra since he was her partner on watch. He would feel her and her quiet cry for help.

Then there were more signatures popping out of places. She was surrounded. Her body was fidgeting for the fight, the adrenaline in her body making blood pound into her ears. She was ready. Finally, she jumped down to the ground and her pursuers came out like flies.

There were seven of them. Shit.

Luckily, she was fully equipped and now incredibly aware. She didn't feel the pain in her tired extremities, and she had done well at keeping her chakra reserves stored to their max. All she needed to do was hold them off until her team reached her. She was only a few kilometers away, and it shouldn't be long until they got to her, unless they were being ambushed as well.

The thought was almost enough to make her falter, but she had to focus on the situation at hand. The seven people, who were dressed in black and wore masks over their faces, were beginning to circle her.

So she chose her signature move, a power play, would be the best option. She reared her hand back and with minor amounts of chakra, slammed her fist into the ground to create a fissure that spread around her. The large gaping hole seemed to surprise the team and they jumped into the trees.

But Sakura knew that this was going to happen. She jumped to the nearest tree that housed three of them and punched it hard. It splintered around her and she was jumping from that to another. It became a game of musical trees, and it was only when Sakura had torn a large clearing into the forest that she realized that they were doing this on purpose. They were biding their time, waiting for her to lose energy.

Tch. Sakura went for one of them this time, grabbing several kunai and whipping them at her opponent. He flung to the side, but Sakura was prepared for him. Grabbing him by the end of his arm, Sakura swung him into a tree. There was a sickening crack of bones, and judging by the angle at which he hit the tree and his limp body, the man had snapped his neck.

However, two of them grabbed her from behind the moment she dropped the lifeless body. Sakura surged chakra into her arms and heated it with a bit of a katon, burning their bare hands. They jumped back and Sakura flipped back, preparing for another attack.

She formed the seals and created two shadow clones. They were perfectly executed, so the enemies wouldn't be able to tell which was which. Forming more seals, the three Sakura's hands began to glow green with her chakra scalpel. She was prepared for hand-to-hand combat.

There were murmurs of the word 'medic' and 'Godaime' and 'pink hair' throughout the silent group and Sakura grinned. They knew who she was.

The six remaining opponents approached her three forms from all sides. They were more wary now that they knew who their little sprite of an opponent was. Sakura split them off, one of her for two of them. It wasn't long before she felt her two clones disappear, and she was alone again very quickly. The six of them were on her all at once, swing weapons at her. She tried to dodge them all, but several senbon flitted dangerously close to her cheeks. There was a stir of chakra not far from them. Her team was on the way.

Filled with renewed hope, Sakura lashed out once again. She hit two of the attackers; one in the stomach and one in the throat. They dropped down dead instantly. She sent a kunai into the side of another, but he seemed to rebound very quickly from the measly weapon and slammed a kunai of his own into her calf muscle when she went to kick him. Cursing, Sakura pulled out the kunai and swept her hand over it expertly, only healing the internal damage. She then lunged tactfully at the four remaining enemies, hoping for one more brawl before her team arrived.

However, this was her downfall. Two of the ninja, now armed with gloves, grabbed her hands and pinned them back. They were slapping chakra restraints on her quickly, and adrenaline was filling Sakura with dread as she began to lose her cool. This was not good.

Sakura kicked out with her legs but those were quickly pinned down too. Panic filled her when she saw a needle that was jabbed into the side of her neck before she could register what was happening.

She recognized the symptoms instantly. Her legs and arms began to twitch and shivers ran up and down her spinal cord. The last test subject she had used on the Sunakagure poison was herself. She always tested poisons on herself to make sure she could beat them in battle. So when the ninja jumped off of her to let the poison do its job, Sakura used chakra to slow the electrical signals in her brain so the poison wouldn't affect her limbs too much. Instead, she sent the waves to her arms. In a lightning fast motion, she grabbed the antidote from her pouch and slammed the syringe into the muscle in her thigh before the ambushers could react.

She had made sure she could use the antidote and had administered a syringe to each of her teammates as well. She knew the poison was coming somewhere from the north due to one of the plants found in it, so she wanted to be prepared.

"Fuck!" one cried out. "She fucking has an antidote just like those little Suna fucks."

"Shut up, Kuzo," another snapped. Sakura's limbs were sluggish now that she had slowed down her neurons. It would take a few moments for her to regain full function of her body. "Knock her out. The others are getting close."

"Fuck!" the first cried. Then there was a shift to her left. All Sakura saw was a large boot coming down on her face.

* * *

"_Here's all you have to know about men and women: women are crazy, men are stupid. And the main reason women are crazy is that men are stupid." ― George Carlin_

* * *

_**-o-owari-o-**_

**I will do my best to update the next chapter rapidly! Also, with the exception of caffeine, reviews are my drug. Feed my habit, people. Love, Yuuago-chan.**


	4. Taken

**Title: **Fortis et Liber

**Author: **yuuago-chan

**Rating: **PG-13/T

**Genre: **Adventure/Friendship (subject to slight change)

**Pairing: **None as of now (subject to change)

**Type: **Continuous (Incomplete)

**Written: **February 26-February 28

**Last Edited: **March 2

**Words: **5,368

**Disclaimer: **Standard disclaimers apply. I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. If I did, things would be a lot different.

**Summary: **She is strong. They never knew it because they never paid her enough mind to see that she was growing faster than they could ever give her credit for.

**Author's Note: **Thanks for all the positive reviews, guys! You're the best. Enjoy the chapter and please review!

**Warning: **This chapter includes some graphic torture. I actually cut about 2,000 words of torture in this chapter because I felt as if I would have to up the rating if I kept it. There will be more explained later in the story, but it won't be as explicit. There were much more horrible things in store for Sakura that I decided to cut. But if you're horribly squeamish, you may ask a friend to read the chapter for you and summarize. It gets a bit graphic.

* * *

_**Fortis et Liber**_

_**Chapter 4: Taken**_

* * *

There was a distinct throbbing her head, but it was quickly overpowered by the sharp pain in her neck. She choked out a cough. Something spat onto the dark ground below her; the metallic taste told her it was blood. Gasping for breath, she realized her esophagus was bruised from the fight – they must have smashed her throat.

The room she was in was dark, but there was a barred window above her – it seemed like miles above her – that let light into the gray room. Her body had been unceremoniously dumped in a sitting position against the far wall, and she could see a simple wooden door on the other side. The ground and walls were made from a thick earthen material, possibly indicative of some of the structures on the southern part of Grass Country.

Her hands were tied in front of her with thick leather straps; they bit into her skin and every time she moved, and she could feel them rubbing and chaffing her irritated skin. They were chakra-infused for strength, and they had faced her palms outward so the backs of her hands were placed tightly against each other. That way, it would be impossible for her to do jutsu. Tricky bastards. Moving her arms in their awkward position was nearly impossible, but after a few moments of struggling and silently cursing to herself, Sakura managed to twist her hands so she could feel her neck.

Not surprisingly, she had no chakra to check her wounds internally, but a quick touch of her neck easily told her that she was bruised heavily from the impact; she ran her thumb over the small cut where the needle had jabbed her and she was worried that it could become infected. Her head was swollen as well, and some of the after effects of the poison were still making some of her muscles spasm uncontrollably.

Her leg kicked out from underneath her involuntarily, but it was a blessing in disguise because it allowed her to twist her position a bit to get a better idea of where she was. Now sitting cross-legged and in a more comfortable position against the cold stone wall, Sakura took stock of the small room. It must have been a holding room or closet of some sort because if she were to stretch herself out, she could most likely touch each wall if she stretched long enough.

Her eyes began to droop a bit, her head feeling horribly heavy. She leaned her head back against the wall and her shoulder and just waited. What else could she do? Her chakra was trapped inside her body, and she could feel her nerves working to realign themselves within her.

Eventually, she fell asleep – or really, fell unconscious once again from her injuries.

When she woke up, it was from loud voices from outside of her room. There was some banging and laughter until, finally, her door was thrown open. The sharp light that burst into the room made her squint her eyes and turn her head to the side for a moment. But after a second to adjust, she looked back at her captors.

There were three men blocking the light from the doorway now. The light outlined their threatening silhouettes, but their faces were distorted and hidden in the dark. Adrenaline coursed through her, and she pulled her hands up to block any blows they may throw her way. It wouldn't work, she knew; she was injured and weak from the previous battle and the chakra locks on her wrists, but she would not go down without a fight.

The one in the middle took two strides into the room and was toe to toe with Sakura's sitting form. She clenched her hands and waited for what he would do. Now that he was closer, she could see the short, buzzed gray hair on his head and a deep scar running from the top of his right eyebrow, down the bridge of his nose, and stopped just under the curve of his square chin. His face was covered in a short gray beard, making it look like he hadn't shaved in a few days.

"You're a dangerous one, missy. We weren't expecting such a good fight from you," he commented. Unsurprisingly, his voice was deep and raspy. He bent down so his face was just a few inches from hers. Sakura's arms were still up, and although she was absolutely terrified, she held her gaze strong and met his eye.

She would not go down without a fight.

"We have questions for you, Pinky," he told her. There was an evil curve to his lips, but it wasn't a smile. Sakura didn't know what to call that devious tilt to his lips. "If you answer, you will not be hurt."

Sakura remained silent for several moments, not allowing her gaze to waiver although she felt as if she may vomit from the fear. Adrenaline and shear stubbornness were keeping her eyes trained on his dark brown irises.

"Good little Konoha kunoichi," he finally laughed with a grin. His teeth, like the rest of him, were large and a little bent. He was missing a few in the front, and Sakura missed the little sadistic smirk he had been giving her because his smile was even worse. "You'll be loyal in the end, but they will not come for you. You are unimportant. Unlike the other one, you have no kekkei genkai. You are expendable to them. Just tell me what we need to know."

Sakura sucked in a deep breath and kept her eyes trained on him. He had said _the other one_. Then Hozoki Seia had to be here. They must have captured her for her kekkei genkai – or at least they kept her for it.

"I won't tell you anything," Sakura hissed. The man grinned again. With one finger, he managed to lift her by the collar of her tattered cotton shirt – she had changed into a slightly oversized shirt the night before so she could go to sleep right after her watch. The slightest sound of her shirt tearing from the force of her weight reverberated from the silent room. One of the men from the door chuckled. Sakura began to shake, and she tried to keep it from showing outwardly. However, it was no use. The man noticed and grinned.

"You're scared, Pinky," he remarked.

There was no point in lying. "Of course I am, but that doesn't make me weak. It makes me human."

"I like your moxie, Pinky," he remarked. "It will be fun to torture you. It will be slow and painful, but I hope your spunk makes it go by faster. The sooner you talk, the sooner it all ends."

He threw her like a rag doll to the two men in the door. One of them picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. This one was smaller and seemed a little cleaner cut than the other two. She hadn't gotten a good look at his face, but his clothes were freshly laundered, judging from the smell of detergent, and there didn't seem to be any scars on his body that she could see.

Being thrown about, though, jostled her head painfully and mad it throb again. Her legs were locked from sitting on the ground for however long she had been unconscious for. Time had no meaning to her, and she didn't know how long it had been since she had been captured. If she could guess, judging from the throbbing in her legs, it must have been at least a day or two.

The three of them walked down the hall quickly. It was also dark and there was barely room for two of them to fit across the tight space. She bounced on the back of the other man compliantly for now, mostly because her body was tight with pain and fatigue threatened to make her pass out again. To keep herself awake, she stared at the butt of the man who carried her. His hands stayed in a professional place on her legs, holding her over his shoulder so that her torso was swinging behind him.

He had a nice butt. It seemed firm and toned, like any ninja's would, but his cotton pants were baggy and she couldn't see if it had a nice shape it. Suddenly, Sakura had the urge to poke it to see if it was as toned if she thought it was, and she almost laughed out loud. The blood rushing to her head and the injuries were making her go crazy.

They had to be. What sane person would think about touching her captor's ass?

Luckily, they weren't far from the room where she had been kept thus far. The third member opened the door to a stark, bland room. This one had two lights fixed into the ceiling, making it easier to see. The walls were, like the rest of the building, made of thick red clay that was horribly cold to the touch. There was no window in this room, and because of the concussion she was sure she had, Sakura could not determine the time it was. She wasn't even really sure how long she had been captive.

The young man that was carrying her – he was young, a few years older than her, she determined when she got a look at his face – set her down on her feet. Her weakened legs wobbled and gave underneath her instantly, so she had to slump back into him to stay supported. She felt weak, useless.

The young man gave a nervous laugh but supported her weight while the third grabbed her arms roughly and sat her down in a cold metal chair that they had placed in the center of the room. He had a round face, almost like Naruto's, but a firm mouth. His hair and his eyes were black, and his skin was pale.

With the exception of the chakra-enhanced leather cuffs around her wrists, Sakura was not restrained any further, and she looked up at her captors nervously.

Fear was beginning to grip her; she would be drowning in it soon. Insecurity swept through her as she began to shake. She was about to be tortured – she wasn't ready for this. They had prepared her for it; both of her sensei had put her through simulations, and she had felt pain before. She had felt some of the worst kinds of pain, but she didn't think she was ready to be tortured and killed.

No, she steeled herself, she could handle this. She had been through hell and back already. She would not betray her precious home. She would not betray her shishou or her friends. She would die for them, and she was prepared for that. If anything, her unadulterated stubbornness would see her through.

"Are you ready to begin the interrogation process, Pinky?" the original man had asked. The other two took a position on either side of the door and leaned against it. "You seem so young, so small. You probably have never been through this before. Trust me, it's easier on everyone if you talk."

The man who had carried her to the room stared at the floor with a grim look on his face, but the other gave a sadistic grin. He was shorter than the other two, but bulky. His hair was long and red. He kept it tied back at the base of his neck, but the sides of his head were shaved. He had tattoos running up his thick arms. Sakura was beginning to understand the dynamic of the pack that was with her now. It was easy to determine their relationships.

The largest man bent down, and Sakura could make out every crude line the weapon that had cut him had made. It looked as if it had been dragged down slowly across his face, going with the contours of his skin and facial shape. The man smiled evilly again and grabbed her hands in his. She struggled against him, but the thick leather straps kept her hands in place and his grip unwavering.

"Now, tell me, Pinky, where you got the antidote for that poison. Crafting that poison cost us a good bit of money, and it had been rendered useless in all of our latest attacks," he asked, his thick, large hands still holding hers immobile.

"Go to hell," Sakura spat out, the small flecks of her saliva spraying the man in the face. He blinked a few times in surprise. Sakura had wanted to just tell him that she had created the antidote, but they did not seem to know who she was and she had no intention of making it easier on them.

Without another word, Sakura felt the man grip her pinky finger on her left hand and pull back before she could even realize what he was doing. The sickening crack was drowned out by her sudden scream of pain. Not looking down at her broken appendage, Sakura tempered her cry.

She had broken a finger before, but it felt as if the man had ripped it clean of her bone. It was throbbing and sending a shooting sensation of pain throughout her entire body, momentarily making her forget about the throbbing in her head and neck. The only reason she knew that her smallest digit wasn't gone was because she could feel it hanging at a ninety degree angle off of her hand.

"That hurt, didn't it?" he asked coldly. There was no more teasing, disgusting smile anymore. The man was frowning, his voice dropping a few octaves. He was in serious torture mode now.

Sakura felt the tears leak from her eyes and bit her lip to stifle her small cries. However, she did not deign him with a response. She would never tell.

"We know that Konoha and Suna are butt-buddies," the man continued, "but an antidote to a poison like that would be something that either one would want to keep to themselves, don't you think? So tell me, how did both of your little maggot states get a hold of that?"

When it took more than a moment for her to respond, Sakura felt her left ring finger rip back. Another horrified cry shot through her throat and she sobbed for a moment after that. Her mind was running a mile a minute, analyzing the situation. She had to calculate what would be best for her to get out of this alive and with Konoha's secrets intact. Hanging her head low, she spoke.

"Suna and Konoha are allies," Sakura replied quietly after taking a moment to regain her speech. Her voice was scratchy and gruff from the screams she had let out. She mentally catalogued her pain and threw it behind a wall in her head. Compartmentalizing was one of the few things she had always been able to do well. This time, at least, she answered the question without giving anything away.

"So, you all did share the cure. Now, tell me, who created the antidote?" the man asked next.

Sakura shook her head. "I don't know. The field medic that met with us before our mission just gave us each a syringe with the antidote," she looked up at the man in front of her imploringly. Her large jade eyes got bigger and tears leaked from them. "Please, I'm just barely a chuunin. I'm apprenticing to be a medic. Konoha is short on medics right now, so they sent me on this mission. It was a simple scouting mission – C-rank!"

Sakura cried out and met the eyes of all three of the men. The youngest one, the one who had carried her, looked disturbed by the entire situation. "I'm only sixteen," Sakura continued. "I'm not ready to die yet."

All three of them seemed to straighten up, and Sakura blessed the fact that she had kept her large eyes, round face, and had bound her breasts so they looked more modest than they were. Anybody would believe that she was sixteen if she wore the right clothes and held herself correctly, and her oversized cotton shirt and sunken body posture made her look smaller than she really was. She was throwing in enough truth to her story that it was easier to lie, more believable.

"How did you make the ground explode?" the man asked after regaining his bearings. Her little outburst seemed to bother him. "You are a very adept fighter for a new chuunin."

"It's an earth jutsu I combine with chakra. I excelled at hand-to-hand combat and chakra control in the academy, and my jounin sensei furthered those skills in the past four years since I graduated. He taught me the earth jutsu, and now I can make the ground explode beneath me with the right amount of chakra," Sakura replied hastily. She threw out a small sob and hiccup to further her point. Once again, her fictional story was grounded in enough truth to keep her from letting out any of her usual tells that she knew she had when she lied.

The man nodded. "I'm disappointed. I thought you would last longer. Tell me, Pinky, what's your name?"

"Sakura," Sakura replied quietly. "Hatake Sakura."

The room stilled and every man stiffened. "Hatake?" the second man, the one with the sadistic grin, echoed. "That's impossible. There was only one Hatake left."

"Kakashi-nii is my older cousin. His father had a half-sister much younger than him, and she is my mother. I moved to Konoha when she died and Kakashi-nii took me in and became my sensei," Sakura explained innocently. More tears leaked from her face, "He's the only family I have left."

"FUCK," Smile Man, as she now called him internally, screamed. She recognized him now as one of the men who she had fought – Kuzo, she thought his name was. "Hatake? Hatake Kakashi will be coming after her like a fucking storm! The man is all about 'never leaving your fucking teammates behind.'"

The man spat the last part out in disgust. Sakura almost smiled a bit because he was right. Hatake Kakashi would be coming soon, chidoris blazing to get his sole female student back. She blessed the fact that these men didn't know the intricate workings of Konoha, or her story would have never worked. They knew enough to corroborate what she was saying, but not enough to know that most of it was a bold faced lie. Excellent.

However, her admission did not seem to please the man in front of her. His face was grim.

"Kuzo," he said gruffly (aha! she was right about the name), "Go contact Boss. Inform him of the latest development."

Kuzo swore again and exited the room. Big Man, man number 1 as she likes to call him now, frowned at her.

"You have upset me, Pinky. I don't like it when people upset me," he said. There was something darker in his voice than she had heard yet – something disgusting and sadistic. It almost had an Orochimaru quality to it that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on edge. "Kaito, bring me the battery."

The smaller man, Kaito, looked horrified.

"Waru-sama," he started in meek protest.

"Do not question me," he ground out. Kaito nodded his head and left the room sluggishly. Sakura's fear began to return when Waru* gripped her hands again and grinned evilly. "You're not going to like this, Hatake-chan."

Then, he pulled back on yet another finger, the pointer this time. Releasing her quickly as she let out another screech of pain, his leg came up and nailed her in the ribs on her right side. Four cracked immediately, and Sakura fell from the chair and landed in a laying position on the cold, hard ground.

Coughing, sputtering, and crying from the pain, she steeled herself physically for another beating. The man, Waru, laid his boot almost softly on top of her head and he pressed suddenly, grinding her face into the ground so she felt it tearing the skin on her cheek. Pressure began to build in her already swollen head and Sakura stifled a sob.

Kaito arrived soon with what looked like a large battery* that would be put inside a heating system or motor of a steam engine – something like that. He set it down on the ground with a thud. Then, he went back into the hall and brought in a bucket of water; two rags were hanging off the side. It only took a moment for him to plug the battery in an outlet in the wall and hook up two metal spokes to the battery. They looked like small metal clamps with a long wire connecting them to the battery-device, and Sakura suddenly realized what was going to happen.

Although she was still trapped under Waru's boot, she began to thrash wildly, jarring her broken ribs and fingers. She let out another yelp as she tried to pull back, but it just made the pain on her face and head worse. Waru began to laugh.

Kaito, a disturbed frown still on his face, wet the rags quietly and fixed them into the metal clamps. He walked over to her, and with a look that bordered on apologetic, straddled her waist to keep her still. Sakura only struggled harder.

The younger man produced a kunai from his belt and tore away at her oversized cotton shirt and bindings in one go. Sakura, tears in her eyes, began to hit him weakly with her hands even though it made pain shoot up her arm and through her body from her broken fingers. Suddenly, the thought of being electrocuted was the last one on her mind. The only thing stopping herself from being revealed to the two men was a thin tube bra that sucked in her breasts and held them in place – standard practice for female shinobi.

"Please," she begged, "not that."

Kaito frowned when he realized what she was referring to.

"I will not rape you," he assured gruffly.

Waru laughed from somewhere above her. "It's the one thing Boss won't let us do. And it's too bad, too. You're not hard on the eyes, and the fighters are always the best – the tightest too."

Sakura stopped struggling and sighed almost in defeat. She just had to keep hope that her team would come for her and that her plans would work – and more importantly, that her team wouldn't do something stupid to ruin her plans.

"Aw, the fight's left you, Pinky?" Waru teased. Sakura didn't like the tone he was using. The pressure from his boot lifted from her face. Kaito pulled himself off of her and dragged her over to the wall. There were hooks attached where he attached her leather hand bindings to the wall. He then moved to her feet and held them down forcefully.

Waru went over to the large battery and flipped the switch on. The soft hum of the electrical current and sparks coming from the metal clamps made it clear that the electricity was working just fine. Sakura watched wearily as the man approached her. Once again, she began to struggle, but she was attached to her spot by Kaito and the chains.

Then, Waru bent down and pressed the wet rags to her bare stomach.

* * *

_Sakura sat down on the ledge of the Hokage Tower's roof quietly. Sasuke looked at her when she thrust a mug into his hands._

"_Hot chocolate for your thoughts?" she asked with a small, shy smile. Sasuke looked at the hot chocolate as if debating. _

"_I made it with dark chocolate and added peppermint so it would be bitter."_

_Sasuke took the hot chocolate with gruff thanks._

"_The stars are peaceful," he said quietly after a few minutes of silence. Sakura looked up at the blanket of stars. It was a particularly clear spring night, but the wind made it cold. Sasuke reached into his pocket and pulled out a thin, long box and handed it to her. _

"_Your birthday present," he explained. "It took longer than I thought to have it made. Sorry its a few weeks late."_

_She smiled at him and accepted the present, laying her head on his shoulder tentatively. When he didn't shove her off, she sighed. "You're right – the stars are peaceful."_

* * *

She was shaking and crying. There were soft whispers above her to sooth her, but they didn't work. It was cold, so cold, and she shook some more. There was a soft voice, coaxing her awake, but she didn't care.

She fell asleep again.

When she awoke the next time, someone shook her a bit, and the pain shooting through her entire body was enough to pull her into consciousness. A woman with dark hair and a worried face was kneeling above her.

"Haruno-kun," she whispered. "You need to wake up."

How did the woman know her name? The quandary was enough to make her eyes stay open. The woman, she was pretty with blue eyes and a pale face, smiled kindly at her.

"Hatake," Sakura croaked. The woman tilted her head in confusion. In a softer voice, Sakura murmured, "They think my name is Hatake."

The woman seemed to understand, so she nodded.

"Hatake-kun, please wake up," she said louder instead.

Sakura nodded and pulled herself up. Her ribs splintered and she let out a small sob. The woman pulled her up so she was sitting in the wall in one quick, forceful motion. It jarred Sakura's injuries and she had to stifle another sob, but it only took a moment for the pain to numb a bit.

Sakura, looking through a swollen black eye, took note of the room. The floors and walls were the dark red clay, but there were too bedrolls in the room with blankets. There was a bucket in the corner with some toilet paper and a small tray next to her side.

"I know it's hard, but you need to eat and drink something," the woman said quietly. Sakura nodded.

The woman's hands were bound, just like her own, and it took a few tries of awkward movement for her to hold a mug of cool water to Sakura's mouth. Sakura drank it down greedily. The woman refilled the mug with a pitcher and gave Sakura more. After another glass of water, a small piece of bread was placed in Sakura's mouth. It took several minutes for her to eat the bread and cheese, but she felt significantly better after a small meal. Her stomach growled for more, but Sakura ignored it.

"You're Hozoki Seia," Sakura observed. The woman looked just like the jounin profile that Tsunade had given her, except this woman was a few years older and had longer hair. Seia nodded.

"I recognized you as well," she remarked quietly. "You healed my daughter once when she broke her arm."

Sakura nodded. She didn't remember the incident, but she believed it. Sometimes she would pick up shifts in the pediatric emergency room just to remind her there was still hope for the future. The kids were fun and so optimistic.

"What did you tell them?" Seia asked. "When they captured you, they knocked me out and we were at this facility when I woke up. They must have moved us both because we were in Grass country before. I'm not even sure where we are now. I was in a cell upstairs for a few days, but I heard them torturing you. Then, they suddenly came to my cell and dragged me down here yesterday. You were already in the room and unconscious when I got here."

"I told them I was the last known relative of Hatake Kakashi," Sakura murmured with a forced smile. Her head was throbbing again and each breath she took came with a gasp and shuddering cough from her injuries. Seia smiled at her.

"Good," she remarked. "They'll think Hatake Kakashi is coming for you."

"He _is _coming for me," Sakura said fervently. "Not only him, but others as well. I'm the Godaime's apprentice. They told me that there was no reason for my country to come for me, those men did, but they didn't recognize me. They have no idea who I am."

Seia was looking at her skeptically, like she would look at an innocent child. "Who else will they send for you?"

Sakura smiled again. There was blood in her mouth and she felt it dribble down her chin when she opened it. "We're in Stone Country, just west of Rain Country and south of Earth Country."

"How do you know that?" Seia asked with a hint of incredulity.

"Stone Country sits between Earth Country and Wind Country. It is one of the only areas that has this thick, wet red clay as its primary earth. It's red and grainy like the sands of Wind Country, but the earth is hard and thick like Earth Country. Then Rain Country adds it's wetness to the ground. This is the only country on this continent that is made of this thick red clay. All of the buildings are made from it. I spent a night here a year or so ago travelling through Rain Country and into Stone for a diplomatic meeting," Sakura explained.

"You have friends around here except your team?" Seia asked. Sakura shook her head no.

"No, but Kakashi-sensei wouldn't go into Stone Country without permission and backup. They are our tentative allies, and we don't want to start a war. We are just north of Wind Country, and I have friends there. Kakashi-sensei will go there and contact Hokage-sama for orders. Then, they'll come here," Sakura explained in a hush, strained whisper. "My best friend, Uzumaki Naruto is in Suna for a treaty agreement and to visit his own best friend, the Godaime Kazekage."

Seia grinned. "You're a genius, Haru…Hatake-kun. But what if the Hokage doesn't allow them to come to us?"

"Naruto will come for me," Sakura said surely. "No matter the orders. Naruto will come for me, and Gaara and Kakashi-sensei will come with him."

She began to fidget, now that she was regaining more and more movement. Each time her body moved, though, she jolted something and was shocked with pain, but it was bearable. She had been through worse.

Seia watched Sakura as she quietly slipped her hands into her pants and just under her panty line. Her head tilted when Sakura came out with a small tube that almost looked like lipstick, but it was longer, perhaps three or four inches. Sakura held it in her one good hand, the only hand without broken fingers.

"Pull on the other end," Sakura commanded quietly since she could not draw her secret weapon open herself. Seia twisted her body so she could, and a small dagger was unsheathed. It was tiny, the blade running only two inches long, but it was thick and sharp and one side was serrated like a saw.

"What's this?" Seia asked, "And how did you get it down here past the idiots upstairs?"

"You know Uchiha Sasuke?" Sakura asked. Seia made a face but didn't say anything negative. Sakura chuckled a bit, but she ended up coughing more blood from her lungs. "You know his sword?"

Seia nodded. "Everybody knows about Kusanagi."

"This is a small blade he had made for me from the same fang," Sakura smiled a bit. "It was my birthday present. I sewed a small pocket into the crotch area of my pants and keep it with me at all times. The idiots here, since they don't allow sexual play of any kind with the prisoners, thank god, didn't notice."

"The blade that can cut through anything," Seia said with a smile. There was hope in her eyes and she took the blade from Sakura. "I'll start cutting."

Sakura nodded. All they could do now is bide their time.

* * *

"_I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you." – Liam Neeson in_ Taken.*

* * *

_**-o-owari-o-**_

* * *

**I will do my best to update the next chapter rapidly! Also, with the exception of caffeine, reviews are my drug. Feed my habit, people. Love, Yuuago-chan.**

* * *

*Waru means _evil _in Japanese. Creative name, ne?

*I pictured the battery torture device like a big car battery, but they don't have cars in Naruto. At least, not to my knowledge. So I used some examples of some things I knew they had, like electricity, but that may be way off. Sorry for any horrible errors in that. If it makes you feel better, just pretend I made it up.

*Usually there would be a quote about women and their strength at the end of this chapter, but instead, I used one of the greatest quotes from a movie of all time. I mean, c'mon, Liam Neeson is awesome.


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